Stormlight Archive??

[Kinslayer]

Has anyone read this series? I was considering my next fantasy series to begin once I complete WoT and considering Sanderson wrapped up WoT, I figured I would give this series a try.

[Songstress]

Oh yes, many of  us have.

 

I'm a huge fan.  @Leyrann I'm sure has a few things to say about it as well.

 

Welcome, Kinslayer!  Poke around and explore a bit, don't neglect the social groups (they're a great way to make friends, seriously).  If you have any questions make sure to ask, we have some super helpful folks who are dying to answer them

[Illian Tear]

I am currently working on book 2 of the series and the books so far are great.

[dahlia]

Hi, Stormlight archive is beautifully and imaginatively written. I think you will enjoy it.

[Guest]

I have never heard of it but I am always looking for new books to read

Thanks for the tip !

[Nikonis]

Welcome to DM!

 

One warning about Brandon's books... They are (almost) all intertwined in a universe called the Cosmere an so there are characters and references to other books/worlds mixed into his other books. Nothing that would keep you from understanding but definitely nice little tidbits for those who have read most of his other works.

 

I really need to read the newest Way of Kings book as well as the two most recent Mistborn books... Kinda behind on my want to read list at the moment.

[Kinslayer]

1 minute ago, Nikon said:

Welcome to DM!

 

One warning about Brandon's books... They are (almost) all intertwined in a universe called the Cosmere an so there are characters and references to other books/worlds mixed into his other books. Nothing that would keep you from understanding but definitely nice little tidbits for those who have read most of his other works.

 

I really need to read the newest Way of Kings book as well as the two most recent Mistborn books... Kinda behind on my want to read list at the moment.

I am somewhat ocd about stuff like that, lol. Wanting to have the full background of everything, even if it doesn't impede understanding. What series/book would be a good starting point for reading his books? I still have some books yet to read of WoT, so I still have a while until I begin reading them.

[Nikonis]

His first published book was Elantris but it is kind of slow since he was just getting started and it kind of shows (he's even admitted it though recently released a revised version of the book so haven't read that version yet...)

 

Personally I'd start with either Way of Kings or Mistborn.  

Mistborn (Past): Mistborn > Well of Ascension > Hero of Ages

Mistborn (Western): Alloy of Law > Shadows of Self > Bands of Mourning

 

That catches you up to all the Mistborn world books so far.  Then I'd read Warbreaker, single book at the moment, before starting Elantris > Emperors Soul Novella and finishing with the Stormlight Archive.

 

Way of Kings > Words of Radiance > Oathbringer

 

Don't think I missed anything in there...  But yeah, the Cosmere has a lot of books and always be on the lookout for the character named Hoid (though doesn't always go by that name)... He is in almost ALL of the books and world hops.

[The Bard Babe]

Agreed ^^ Mistborn is a good place to start. I really loved them. Stormlight Archive is also amazing, and they're in separate worlds so you don't have to worry too much about which one you start with. But I recommend Nikon's order also :p

 

But chuck in Arcanum Unbounded before you read Oathbringer. It's a bunch of short stories et in the various wrldswith lots of tidbits you wanna get in before tackling the Oathbringer leviathan.

[Leyrann]

*gets pulled in by Tress*

 

Welcome to Dragonmount, Kinslayer.

 

Stormlight Archive is my personal favorite series at the moment! The world is totally different from our world, with a different ecology, climate and everything, worked out super well, with magic ingrained perfectly into it and the characters are absolutely amazing.

 

Fair warning though, it's got a very high learning curve because of how much worldbuilding there has to be done, so you need to be ready for that.

 

As for wheter it's a good idea to start Stormlight Archive, if you're absolutely convinced you'll read it, go ahead! If you're not convinced, start somewhere else, find out Brandon Sanderson is the best author ever, and use that knowledge to get through the hard early part of Stormlight Archive. (note, I actually backtrack a bit on starting with Stormlight Archive later on but I'm not gonna rewrite the whole post)

 

The easiest starting point for Brandon's books is probably Mistborn. Of all Brandon's works, the original Mistborn trilogy best resembles standard fantasy, and Brandon knows exactly how to surprise you in all the right ways with that. Additionally, the learning curve is much lower - most of the first book is a single storyline, while Stormlight Archive has 3 major storylines and one minor storyline throughout the first book.

 

You can also start with Elantris, which is a very good book even if it was his debut. I greatly enjoyed reading it, and Brandon tells the story in a great way, with 3 main characters that he rotates through in a set way, giving them a chapter every time, making them interact brilliantly.

 

What's also one of the most satisfying things about Brandon's books (and for that it doesn't matter with which one of these series you start) is that they tend to have at least one character that just inspires other characters around them.

 

As for what to read after the first books, the order doesn't matter a whole lot, but you should of course make sure not to read things in the wrong order (so read Mistborn Era 1 before reading Mistborn Era 2). Additionally, I would like to recommend reading Warbreaker before reading too much of Stormlight Archive, as there are a few crossovers. You definitely need to read it before Oathbringer, and preferably before Words of Radiance. Additionally, you might want to read Warbreaker after Elantris and Mistborn Era 1 because Brandon uses them as foils for one another at quite a few points (and that's all I'm going to say about it).

 

So yeah, unless you really want to read that big Sanderson epic (which can be done, you can even read Oathbringer before Warbreaker, but it will raise a few questions about the history of characters), I'd probably advice this reading order:

 

Mistborn: First Era

Mistborn: Second Era

Elantris (+Emperor's Soul I think, but I haven't read it myself yet)

Warbreaker

Stormlight Archive (note: read Edgedancer (a novella that plays around the end of Words of Radiance) before Oathbringer)

 

As for the other Cosmere books:

 

Mistborn: Secret History: Definitely do not read before finishing the First Era (major, like super major spoilers), and you might even want to save it for after having read the Second Era, though it won't spoil anything.

White Sand, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Sixth of the Dusk: I haven't read these myself yet, but as far as I am aware it doens't matter too much when you read them exactly. I think that you'd best save them for later, as they're less important to the Cosmere overall.

 

Oh and if you want to know more about the Cosmere (make sure to at least finish Elantris, Mistborn and Stormlight Archive beforehand though, because spoilers!), go to 17thshard.com, which is basically the Brandon Sanderson version of Dragonmount only people are theorizing even more intensively than the Wheel of Time community has ever done (and that's saying something).

[Kinslayer]

20 hours ago, Nikon said:

Thanks for all the input everyone. Very helpful. I also have been researching a little on my own to geg a background on each book/series and have come up with this list to get me going. Let me know what you guys think.  

• Elantris (2005)
• Mistborn Trilogy
• Warbreaker (2009)
• The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings (2010)
• Mistborn: The Alloy of Law (2011)
• The Emperor's Soul (2012, novella)
• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (2013, short story published in Dangerous Women)
• The Stormlight Archive: Words of Radiance (2014)

 

[Gentled Ben]

Sounds good. Keep in mind that his writing improves over time, so read Elantris with a grain of salt. Don't let the bad dialogue stop you from reading any of his other works. Mistborn is much better, and his current writing is quite polished. All of his tales are fun and imaginative, even if they have rough patches.

[Kinslayer]

That is what I have heard about Elantris, both from ppl on here and from elsewhere. I currently just finished book 4 of WoT and am now halfway through book 5, so it'll be a bit til I can get to it. On top of that I dont know what to do now. My wife went to a used book store yesterday and surprised me with books 1-6 of Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series, which is another series I have been wanting to read. Any input on SoT series? 

[Gentled Ben]

I liked the first one alright. It starts out rather clumsily, but it gets better as it goes along. It's almost like he took the writing more seriously after a certain point. He has an interesting barrier between lands in that book; I think an entire book could have been written around that alone if he had been so inclined.

 

I have read a couple of interviews with him where I found him insufferable though, and that has colored my perception of his writing. I bogged down in the second book and didn't finish, but I did enjoy the first book after maybe 1/3 of the way through. The Mord-Sith are a surprising fantasy element...

[Gaidal_Cain]

On 1/23/2018 at 2:58 PM, Kinslayer said:

That is what I have heard about Elantris, both from ppl on here and from elsewhere. I currently just finished book 4 of WoT and am now halfway through book 5, so it'll be a bit til I can get to it. On top of that I dont know what to do now. My wife went to a used book store yesterday and surprised me with books 1-6 of Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series, which is another series I have been wanting to read. Any input on SoT series? 

I'm fairly new to the forum but have been reading science fiction/ fantasy since I was 10 starting with harry potter. Lol. But I truly loved the sword of truth when I was younger. I don't think it is anywhere near as polished or in depth as the wheel of time or sanderson cosmere but it is a good read.